Jazzy's DNA Results

Way back in the beginning of January, I talked about the DNA test Jazzy and I got for Christmas.  I was so excited to finally learn exactly which breeds make up our sweet little Jazzy!  

About two weeks after I sent off her test swabs, an email arrived in my inbox from the DNA testing company.  I couldn't click on it fast enough!  Sadly, the email didn't contain Jazzy's test results, but a message saying that the swabs didn't contain enough DNA to perform the tests.  Bummer!  However, the company offered to send another test to me free of charge so I could try again.  They also included some more in depth directions on how to get the best sample.  I guess most people can figure it out without the detailed specifics, but I certainly needed a little more direction.  

In case you are doing this test on your pups, the best way to collect the best sample is to put the swab between their top gums and cheek.  Then swirl it around for 20 seconds while pushing on their upper gum area from the outside of their mouth.  I had Adam help me out this time around and it definitely helped to have another set of hands.  Plus, we woke Jazzy up from one of her many naps to do this, so she was a bit sleepy and didn't put up a big fight.  

Once we had the appropriate sample, I sent off the second test and did some more waiting.  This weekend, I finally got the results!!!  Adam and I looked through the results together and were pretty surprised with the outcome.  Even though it was surprising, it did seem very plausible and trustworthy.  

So here's the big news about Jazzy's breeds...

...she's 50% Japanese Chin, 25% Russell Terrier and 25% mixed breed groups!  That means one of her parents was a purebred Japanese Chin and her other parent was a Russell Terrier mix.  I'm not really sure why that surprises me so much, but it does.  I can just imagine Jazzy's Japanese Chin mother sneaking out of the house to have a fling with the Russell Terrier down the street.  Ha!  After looking at some photos of Japanese Chins, I can definitely see the resemblance.  

The results gave a brief history of the breeds and some characteristics of each breed.  Apparently back in the day Japanese Chins were considered dogs of royalty and could only be owned by aristocracy.  I guess that explains why Jazzy is so refined.  Some of the common behaviors of the Japanese Chin that were listed that we recognize in Jazzy are: 

-She's an active, alert and intelligent dog. 

-Although described as stubborn this tendency may be reduced via a reward-based approach to training. 

-Japanese Chin enjoy participating in dog sports such as agility and both rally and competitive obedience.  

We definitely think she's active, alert and intelligent.  And she can certainly be stubborn at times and pretend she doesn't hear us calling her, but if you mention a cookie she suddenly puts all her attention on you.  She also seemed to enjoy the obedience class she took and learning new tricks.   

Some of the common behaviors of the Russell Terrier that were listed that we recognize in Jazzy are: 

-Very intelligent, obedient, active, agile, highly energetic, and watchful dogs. 

-Reputation as a good family dog, but with careful training needed to avoid development of "small dog syndrome."  

Again, we see the intelligence, obedience, activeness, agility, energy and watchfulness.  She always seems to be aware of what's going on and like she's trying to figure things out.  And she does have a tendency to want to assert herself when we come across bigger dogs.  That's something we are always working on.  

The results screened her for several genetic disorders, which all came back negative, thankfully.  There was also an indication for what her adult weight should be, which is 8-18 pounds.  Jazzy weighs 17 pounds right now.  While that's on the higher end, it is within the suggested range.  The vet has always had some difficulty deciding what her ideal weight should be since we didn't know her exact breeds.  

I would highly recommend the Wisdom Panel test to anyone who might be curious about their dogs' breeds. Once I got the hang of collecting the DNA sample in the correct way, it was pretty simple.  The customer service was spot on and the results seem to be spot on, as well.  

Now when people ask what kind of dog Jazzy is, we can answer with certainty that she is a Japanese Chin/Russell Terrier mix.  It's the best mix of breeds, if you ask me!